Salon chairs are widely used by beauticians and other individuals performing hairdressing or other service for a patron seated in such chairs. As taught by Zvonik in U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,334, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference, salon or styling chairs having stationary footrest assemblies are generally well-known. A typical salon chair having a rigid tubular U-shaped footrest is depicted by Rodas in U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,670, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. Rodas additionally teaches a circular hairdresser footrest which is connectable around the base of the salon chair for supporting the hairdresser's foot while working on a customer seated in a salon chair.
However, as taught by Zvonik, the patron may have difficulty taking a seated position in these prior art salon chairs. The user must either step over the horizontal foot-engaging and supporting portion of the rigid U-shaped footrest, or stand in front of the salon chair with the backs of the ankles against the horizontal foot engaging portion and then literally fall backward into the chair. Users with ambulatory problems, particularly the elderly or infirm, have a great deal of difficulty both getting into and out of these chairs because of the rigid immovable nature of these conventional footrests.
Furthermore, in dealings with the elderly and infirm, for example in an assisted living arena, the salon chair is experienced not only by the patron entering and leaving the chair. The salon chair is often also experienced by one or more caregivers and the operator. Caregivers experience the salon chair while assisting the patron into and out of the chair; caregivers may even have to lift the patron between a wheel chair and the salon chair. The operator experiences the salon chair while grooming or otherwise servicing the patron.
Zvonik and others have provided various apparatus intended to overcome this seating challenge. However, known footrest assemblies for salon chairs are limited in their ability to provide a comfortable movable footrest assembly that operates simply, efficiently and safely. Unfortunately, the footrest assembly taught by Zvonik, as well as other known footrest assemblies for salon chairs, consistently leaves at least a portion of the footrest or footrest support extended in front of the chair, even when the actual footrest is moved into a non-use position. These extended portions of the footrest assembly present a danger to the caregiver and operator alike, who may become entangled in them or even trip over them, hurting themselves and endangering others, including the elderly or infirm patron.